▲ Pilates file photo
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has established standard terms and conditions for the yoga and Pilates industry to prevent frequent consumer losses, where users are unable to receive refunds for long-term prepayments due to sudden business closures.
The FTC announced today (July 20) that it has enacted the "Standard Terms and Conditions for Yoga and Pilates," which specify criteria for calculating cancellation fees and refunds when terminating contracts.
Yoga and Pilates businesses are representative of industries that encourage users to make long-term prepayments.
However, because terms and conditions vary by business, there have been ongoing consumer damages related to unfavorable refund practices and unannounced business suspensions or closures.
In fact, the number of damage consultations regarding yoga and Pilates received by the Korea Consumer Agency surged from 818 in 2021 to 1,919 in 2023.
Notably, a 2025 survey by the Korea Consumer Agency revealed that 9.9% of Pilates users and 11.5% of yoga users reported having experienced an inability to receive refunds due to business closures.
The average amount of unrefunded money was found to be 250,000 won.
In response, the FTC has included a provision in the standard terms requiring advance notice of business suspension or closure.
The FTC has mandated that if a business intends to suspend or close, it must notify members at least 14 days prior to the scheduled date.
Furthermore, if a yoga or Pilates business is enrolled in guarantee insurance, the business must inform consumers of the insurance type and coverage details in advance, allowing them to verify before signing a contract whether they can be compensated by the guarantee institution in the event of a business shutdown.
However, enrollment in guarantee insurance does not yet appear to be very common.
An FTC official stated, "I understand that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism intends to introduce guarantee insurance products for gyms and similar facilities," adding, "Once introduced for gyms, related guarantee insurance products could be developed and utilized in the yoga and Pilates industry as well."
Refund criteria have also been clarified.
In the yoga and Pilates industry, businesses often encourage contracts by offering discounts for long-term prepayments, but when a contract is terminated, they frequently calculate refunds by deducting significant amounts based on the pre-discount price, resulting in underpayment.
Consequently, the FTC has mandated that refunds upon contract termination must be calculated based on the actual payment amount, not the pre-discount price.
The cancellation fee has been set at 10% of the service fee to prevent disputes related to refund calculations.
Additionally, as the methods for using yoga and Pilates services are largely divided into duration-based and session-based criteria, the FTC has required each business to establish refund methods that align with their operational practices.
When signing a contract, businesses and consumers are now able to mutually agree on the service usage and refund method.
To this end, the standard terms specify that application forms for session-based and duration-based products must be presented separately, and the refund method applicable to each service usage type must be clearly stated.
This is to ensure that from the moment of signing the contract, consumers are fully aware of how their refunds will be calculated if they cancel.
The FTC expressed its expectation that the enactment of these standard terms will contribute to reducing disputes between businesses and consumers.
The use of these standard terms is recommended starting today.
The FTC plans to post the standard terms on its website and actively engage in related education to ensure they are widely utilized.
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